Strength in Weakness

Felicitas Unidad Roan, Mami Fely, or simply, Mami, is the epitome of real strength. Downed by a serious illness, she fought and struggled to rise up again and to remain standing. She never faltered. Never surrendered. Though not my biological mother, my umbilical cord stretched out to her womb during my younger days. Daddy Jim died in my arms as I, as a young teenager, tried to keep the life in him when he had a heart attack in 1992. I guess that was the time when I was officially "adopted" by Mami. As my best friend Jasper's elder (but younger in terms of looks) brother. The Roan Reyes household survived the ordeal. We survived the ordeal and as Mami repeatedly reminded me during those dark hours, "Life MUst Go On." And her words seemed to have a strong impact on me. Upon hearing the words, it kinda got absorbed in my bloodstream and got stuck in my mind forever. IN times of sorrow and deep regret, indeed, LIFE MUST GO ON!
No so long after the death of Dadi JIm, Mam Fely was diagnosed with the BIG C. Yes, she underwent a series of operation in the mid-90s. They said hers was a terminal case but her illness or weakness somehow mutated into an energy that gave birth to another strong-willed person. She, again, survived. Life Must Go On.
Just recently, however, she contracted another dreaded disease. Still related to the BIG C. IN fact, I guess, the Big Brother of the BIG C.
Despite her ordeal, Mami remains a picture of strength. Never heard her feeling sorry for the test she is now into. There was a bad news in December last year. That she would not survive another three months. The doctor who diagnosed her, however, was felled by a liver ailment. That was the only time she told me she was sorry. Not for herself but for her doctor. More serious than hers I guess her doctor's illness was. Eleven months after, Mami still enjoys the gift of life. Still going out with friends. Enjoying the fruits of seniorhood. Last time we met, she gained weight. And gained wisdom as the days moved along. LIFE MUST GO ON.
Indeed, LIFE MUST GO ON. When she first uttered those words to me, I never really realized the true meaning of it. It just sank in to me that LIFE continues even after DEATH. She died when Dady died. She died when first diagnosed with cancer. She died when she was dignosed again with yet another case of cancer. Yet she stood up and lived again, and again, and again. For LIFE MUST GO ON, AND ON, AND ON, AND ON... And even as we reached that place of ETERNAL BLISS. I believe we would continue to live in the hearts and minds of people we loved and those who loved us when we were still AT THE FIRST PHASE OF LIFE HERE ON EARTH.
Years from now, all of us must pass to the next level of life. And then to the next level again. But it is quite helpful to share with you that very powerful phrase that made Joel Egco what he is now. Let us share the same words to people we love and cherish. People who we want to find STRENGTH in WEAKNESS.

LIFE MUST GO ON ;)